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I have basic c++/java knowledge, and am attempting to start some game related projects in my own time, since my school (UVic) doesn't haven classes focusing on it. I was hoping to buy a book that will run me through beginner game programming, preferabling using c++ and direct x. I checked the beginners page at gamedev, and googled some additional information on the books supplied under game development. Turns out, their pretty old and while most of the theory seems to still be relevent, code snippets and applications within the books are reported to be decrepit and require changes to run. I was hoping someone here could point me to some more recent books, or point me to where i could find them..

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We can't read minds here. At least I know I can't.Which books are you complaining about for example?What is the longest C++ program you have written(was it at least 500+ lines long and use multiple files?)?Have you written the obligatory text based hangman,tic-tac-toe,blackjack games in C++ or Java?Anyways, the Frank Luna C++/DX books are the best I've seen and the newest book worked with the latest version of VC++ 2008/DX SDK last time I tried it.I have to warn you it's not recommended for beginners though since the author states in the intro:audience:intermediate C++ programmersknowledge of basic data structures like linked listsbasic STL knowledge since std<list>, std<vector>,std<map> used in bookknowledge of win32api helpfulknow your way around visual studioetc.But yeah I have a ton of C++ book that use older versions of DirectX all the way back to DX3 and if haven't been programming for a way they will only confuse if you've never used DirectX before. If you are experienced they are good practice for porting from DX8 to DX9 which is doable. I've done it before but definitely not for a beginner to try. Stick with a version like 9.0c is good at first.

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Original post by daviangelWe can't read minds here. At least I know I can't.Which books are you complaining about for example?What is the longest C++ program you have written(was it at least 500+ lines long and use multiple files?)?Have you written the obligatory text based hangman,tic-tac-toe,blackjack games in C++ or Java?Anyways, the Frank Luna C++/DX books are the best I've seen and the newest book worked with the latest version of VC++ 2008/DX SDK last time I tried it.If not check out his moonlabs website.

The book I was complaining about is programming roleplaying games with direct x.

the longest c++ file I've written was around 2000 lines and used a couple files (not more then 3 or 4).

No, i haven't written hangman, tic-tac-toe, or blackjack in c++ or java.

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Original post by AntheusThe basics are covered by CS courses. Understanding them well gives you the background knowledge.

The rest however is split between cutting edge research presented at conferences, and recent best-practices with various APIs and current hardware.

Everything else is a compromise.

This is part of the appeal, quickly evolving, cutting edge areas. As such, comprehensive material is mostly obsolete, or very specialized.

Various XYZ Gems series tend to contain practical and useful information.

As beginner, start getting stuff done, worry about up-to-date later and as you go along.

Thanks. I've been trying to get stuff done, was doing making a tetris clone but hit a wall when it came time to using windows GDI. I don't really understand any of that stuff, even after checking out the 1h tetris tutorial's usage of it.

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Not to steer you away from DirectX or from books, but if this is your first venture into game development using C++, I would check out Lazy Foo's tutorials on SDL. It will get you into the groove of how games work and process with the objects they involve. And it's less daunting to new game development programmers. http://lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/index.php

And if you insist on learning DirectX right away and you need a book, I would pick up "Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX" by Vaughan Young. It uses DirectX 9.0c (Which is still the standard for most games) compared to the book you mentioned which I own that uses DirectX 8. In addition to that book I also recommend getting "Beginning Math and Physics for Game Programmers" by Wendy Stahler (Unless of course you've taken advanced math classes in college) to help you ease into the mathematics involved with game programming.

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Original post by phear-Not to steer you away from DirectX or from books, but if this is your first venture into game development using C++, I would check out Lazy Foo's tutorials on SDL. It will get you into the groove of how games work and process with the objects they involve. And it's less daunting to new game development programmers. http://lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/index.php

And if you insist on learning DirectX right away and you need a book, I would pick up "Programming a Multiplayer FPS in DirectX" by Vaughan Young. It uses DirectX 9.0c (Which is still the standard for most games) compared to the book you mentioned which I own that uses DirectX 8. In addition to that book I also recommend getting "Beginning Math and Physics for Game Programmers" by Wendy Stahler (Unless of course you've taken advanced math classes in college) to help you ease into the mathematics involved with game programming.

Thanks, I'll try working with the SDL tutorials you recommended. I Have/am taken/taking quite a few advanced math classes in university, but brushing up can never hurt.

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I second Lazy Foo's site. I've been trying to learn SDL and got the book "Focus on SDL" but I honestly cannot recommend it. I know a lot of people like it but for me starting out with graphics it didn't work so well.

Lazy Foo's site is great but I struggled a little bit starting out with it until I broke his programs down into smaller programs that used the same concepts he was teaching. This allowed me to learn why he was using the functions that he was creating. (You'll see what I mean when you start).